Aces continue to hold out hope for NIT bid

DANIEL R. PATMORE / SPECIAL TO THE COURIER & PRESS
(File Photo) UE’s Head Coach Marty Simmons shouts out instructions to his team in the first half of a recent collegiate basketball game at the Ford Center.

Daniel R. Patmore

Marty Simmons

With a record well above .500 and a fourth-place Missouri Valley Conference finish, the University of Evansville's men's basketball team will play somewhere in the postseason.

At least another invitation to the College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com Tournament seems a lock for the Aces, but coach Marty Simmons is aiming higher.

"We're just real hopeful right now for an NIT bid, and that's what all of our energy and efforts are going to right now," Simmons said on Wednesday. "We feel like the body of work from the start of the season to the end has given us an opportunity to be considered.

"We've talked to all the tournaments, and we certainly have backup plans in place. I think right now our attention at least at this point is to hope to have a shot at playing in the NIT."

Before a 51-50 loss to Indiana State in last week's MVC tournament, the Aces (18-14, 10-8 MVC) ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak. That spree included road victories over Wichita State, which will likely earn an NCAA tournament at-large bid, and Wright State, which played in the Horizon League tournament championship game.

Since Feb. 17, Evansville is 4-1. Over that same span, other MVC teams likely to be considered for the NIT are Illinois State (2-5), Indiana State (2-4) and Northern Iowa (2-3).

"That's good for us," Simmons said. "I think a lot of times they look at how you finished."

Last season, Illinois State made the NIT field with a ratings percentage index of 100. The Aces currently sit 106th. They're also 83rd at KenPom.com and 92nd in Jeff Sagarin's computer rankings.

There's somewhat of a lobbying process now for Evansville's athletic department, which is selling those numbers and more to the NIT committee.

-- Senior Colt Ryan is the second-leading scorer in school history and seventh on the MVC's all-time list.

-- Evansville's 18 wins marked the program's most since 2000, and 34 of the last 38 MVC teams to win 10 league games earned NCAA or NIT bids.

-- The Aces swept second-place Wichita State as well as third-place Northern Iowa during the regular season.

"There are people that we're talking to trying to get our information in front of," Simmons said. "I think the people that are involved with those tournaments do a great job of gathering information themselves."

In Simmons' five previous seasons, his UE teams have twice played in the 16-team CBI and once in the 32-team CIT. Those fields and that of the 32-team NIT will be announced Sunday after the NCAA tournament selections are unveiled. First-round play in each begins Tuesday, with a chance the Aces could host.